Reunion
by OhJay
Summary: Post movie. What if Ed DIDN'T go back to Germany after the invasion? What if Roy knows why Al is missing his memories? What would happen? EdxWinry, T for violence.
1. I Failure Or Success?

_**I Failure or success?**_

November 8th, 1917

Central, Amestris

It was over. Eckhart had been defeated, and the fighting below had stopped as well. Eighteen year old Edward Elric stood on Eckhart's rocket airship with his younger brother Alphonse and his old superior officer Roy Mustang.

So what now? asked Mustang.

Ed looked down at his feet, he knew what he had to do.

Brother?

Winry Rockbell walked around what were now the ruins of Central. She had been hiding in the underground city with her friend Sheska, but when the things seemed to calm down they returned to the surface. The battle had done some pretty bad damage to Central. Buildings that had gotten hit were in ruins, and some were even on fire. Dead bodies laid in the streets, but everything seemed quiet.

My God... said Sheska as she looked around.

Up in the sky they caught sight of one of the rocket ships flying towards the underground city.

That's Ed, I know it said Winry.

A tear ran down her face and she wiped it away.

I guess this is goodbye for good

Winry?

She gasped, she knew that voice. She slowly turned around to see Ed and Al behind her.

Edward?!

She looked back to where she had seen the ship fly off. The smoke was still there, but Ed and Al were both here. Was she seeing things?

But, I thought you-How?

I transferred part of my soul into a suit or armor again to close the gate on the other side, Mustang said he would close it on this side

So you're staying? she asked Ed.

He nodded with a smile on his face. She smiled as tears of joy ran down her face and she hugged him.

Welcome home then Y-Yeah

Ed blushed. He wasn't used to hugs from her, and since he had a crush on her since they were kids it was awkward. He looked around at the aftermath of the battle. He had tried to stop this from ever happening, and now it was over. However he was a bit confused. It was true that they had invaded, but at the same time he was able to get home because of it. Then there was Alfons Heiderich. He felt like he had done something meaningful. Noa and Eckhart hadn't gotten what they wanted, but Eckhart was a bit crazy, and Nothing is ever perfect as his father would say. Was it a failure or a success? He didn't know.

_**Author's Notes**_

Yeah, yeah it's short I know. I would tell you that they get longer, but they don't really, at least not by a lot. This is mostly just intro and set up for the Sequel, but there's still some good stuff coming soon so please keep reading and review.


	2. II Home At Last

_**II Home At Last**_

November 9th, 1917

Risembool, Amestris

For the first time in over two years Ed woke up in his old room in the Rockbell home. It felt nice, like when you went away on vacation then came back and felt so good to be back in your own bed. He stretched as he got up, then he got dressed. He had ditched the clothes that he wore in Germany since they sort of stood out and went back to his old black outfit and red coat. He still wore his hair in a pony tail, and his black shirt was button down like his white one, but everything else was the same.

"Morning" he said as he walked downstairs.

"Morning brother" said Al cheerfully.

Ed fixed himself a cup of coffee and sat down. Winry was busy making bacon and eggs at the stove, but she turned around and set a glass of milk in front of Ed.

"I want it gone before you leave the house Ed"

Ed rolled his eyes and looked at the glass with disgust.

"Just because I'm older doesn't mean my tastes have changed Winry. Besides I've grown six inches in the past two years and am now taller than you"

She sighed and turned her attention back to the stove as Ed slid the glass of milk over to Al. Al sighed and shook his head disapprovingly, but he drank it anyway. He had given up on trying to get Ed to drink milk years ago, and he didn't want it to go to waste. After Ed was done with breakfast he set his dirty dishes in the sink and grabbed his coat.

"I'm gonna go see mom"

"Want me to come with you?" Al asked.

"No thanks"

Al nodded. He had a feeling that his brother needed to be alone for a bit. He may not have remembered it, but the last time he was there was to dig up the grave to kill Sloth.

"Hi mom, sorry it's been a while"

Silence.

"I'm sorry about..."

He drifted off and sighed. Why was it so hard to have a one-sided conversation?

"You were right about dad, he really was a nice guy. If you see him tell him that I forgive him, I never got the chance to say it"

A few minutes later he walked back to the Rockbells.

"I'm back" he said as he hung up his coat.

"Ed Mustang's on the phone, he says he wants to talk to you" said Winry.

Ed sighed and picked up the phone.

"What is it?" he whined.

"I need you to come to Central"

"What for? I just got back"

"Exactly, you've been charged with desertion"

Ed blinked. This wasn't good.

"The assembly* wants to talk to you personally, how soon can you get here?"

"I'll be on the next train"

_**Author's Notes**_

For those of you that don't know Desertion and AWOL are pretty much the same thing.

*After Bradley was killed there was a change of government from military to democracy (says so in episode 51) and they refer to it as the assembly.

The next chapter is kind of long, and I'm gonna start cracking down on my updates. I'd like at least three reviews before I put up the next two chapters, and I do accept criticism.


	3. III State Alchemists

_**III State Alchemists**_

November 9th, 1917

Central, Amestris

By late afternoon Ed was in Central headquarters in Mustang's office.

"So I heard you got promoted again, _General_"

After the invasion since Mustang had helped out a great deal with both the battle and clean up he was not only returned to his former rank*, but was made a full general. Of course he had snapped out of his depression by now, so he didn't mind one bit (except for all the extra paperwork).

"Glad you came FullMetal, but as I told you you're in a bit of trouble. At the worst you'll be court martialed, but that's only if you plan on staying a state alchemist"

"I have thought about that. I figured with the change of government things might be a little better in terms of military, plus I helped out a lot of people so I don't mind being tied to the state for now"

Roy sighed.

"Well, I guess I have to give you your watch back now."

He reached into his pocket and seemed to dig for a moment before pulling out a very worn and a bit burnt, but familiar pocket watch. He tossed it to Ed with another sigh.

"You may think you lost it, but I've been holding on to that thing for awhile. So, in a sense, you never stopped being an military dog."

Ed blinked and looked at the watch. He opened it and saw the inscription that he carved inside:

_Don't Forget_

_ Oct.3.10. _

_It ____was __his._

"Oh gee, thanks for telling me" he said sarcastically.

"Here"

Mustang handed Ed a paper bag. Ed raised an eyebrow, but took it. Then he opened it to look inside and frowned.

"Do I really-

"Yes"

Ed groaned.

"Fine..." he whined.

Ed stood up and left the room so he could go change. A few minutes later he was walking down the hall with Mustang in full military uniform. He was _not _a happy camper.

"Now be polite. These are the people ruling the country right now, and depending on what you say you may or may not have to face a trial. Don't say anything out of place, and DO NOT lose your temper"

Ed nodded. He had gotten better at controlling his temper over the years, so it shouldn't be a problem.

Mustang knocked on the door and after an "Enter" they walked in.

"I've brought FullMetal"

Ed looked around the room. There were about ten people around a long wooden rectangular table. Most of them were middle aged men, but some looked older, and there were two woman.

"Edward Elric. Two years ago you and your alchemy teacher Izumi Curtis broke into Central military headquarters and attacked military personal. During the attack you escaped and went missing until yesterday when an unknown enemy attacked us with unfamiliar technology. Care to explain this?"

The voice was harsh and cold and already made Ed want to yell at him that that was all wrong, but he remained calm and kept him cool.

"Two years ago when I was doing my research on the Philosopher's Stone I encountered people calling themselves homunculi. I discovered that Fuhrer King Bradley too was a homunculus so my teacher and I decided to raid headquarters and confront him. It was then I discovered that he wasn't there so I left in the middle of the confusion of the battle. The Homunculi had kidnapped my younger brother so I went to rescue them, but their leader Dante sent me on a one-way trip to a parallel through what us alchemists call the gate. I was trapped there for two years until I discovered a group called The Thule Society was planning to open the gate and invade Amestris. I tried to stop them, but I ended up making things worse"

Of course he had to leave out the part about Al being the Philosopher's Stone, him getting killed by Envy and Al using the stone to bring him back causing Ed to re-sacrifice his limbs and end up in Germany. If they knew he attempted human transmutation twice then he'd be court martialed for sure, and probably even killed.

"Is the gate closed now?"

"Yes, I made sure of it"

"Very well Mr. Elric. I think we can all agree that you are innocent and free to go"

All heads nodded and Ed smiled.

"Thank you"

Ed bowed politely then left with Mustang. As he did so he felt a shiver go up his spine so he glanced back. The middle aged brunette woman was glaring at him coldly, and he didn't like it.

"Well that went well" said Mustang as they walked down the hall.

"I don't like that woman. She kept glaring daggers at me the whole time, and you can smell her perfume all the way outside. What is it with woman and their perfume?!" said Ed.

"By the way, I want a full report on that parallel world"

"**WHAT?!"**

"You missed two assessments FullMetal, you need to make up for them"

Ed made a noise that sounded somewhere between a groan and a growl, but nodded.

"Fine, I'll have it for you next week"

February 3rd, 1918

Risembool, Amestris

"I can't believe you're nineteen"

Ed smiled. He and Al were in their room talking before they went to bed.

"Yeah. It's hard to believe so much time has passed"

Al was silent for a few minutes, and Ed was beginning to wonder if he had fallen asleep already.

"Brother?"

"Yeah?"

"Would you mind if I took the State Alchemist exam next month?"

Ed frowned.

"I've been studying a lot of alchemy lately, and now that you're a Colonel I could probably work under you"

Ed had been promoted two ranks by the assembly's decision. One for discovering that a homunculus was ruling the country and pulling all the strings (and that they actually existed) and another for stopping the Thule's invasion in the end.

"I don't want you on a leash Al, but I won't stop you from taking the test if you really want to"

March 12th, 1918

Central, Amestris

Over the next few weeks Al spent most of his time studying. Ed helped him whenever he asked for it, but he spent most of his time on missions or with Winry. By now the two had confessed their love for each other and were now officially a couple. The day came for the written exam and Al passed with flying colors. He did well with his interview too, and a couple days later the practicals arrived.

There was no particular order for the alchemists to go, but Al chose to go last. When it was his turn he stood in front of the state alchemists that were evaluating him (which included Mustang and Armstrong) and clapped his hands together.

"No circle?" asked one.

"I guess he's just like his brother" said another.

Blue energy flared as he pressed his hands to the ground and a suit of armor grew up from it. At first it just stood there motionless, but then he clapped his hands again and placed them on it. A blue array glowed on it for a moment, then it began to walk around.

"I'm controlling this suit of armor with a portion of my soul I transferred into it. They never get tired or hungry, and it doesn't hurt me at all"

"Can you use alchemy through it?"

"I can, but the equation I used on it can only last for so much time, and using alchemy through it burns up the time"

"Well boys, I think we've found our state alchemist"

"He's a prodigy, just like his brother!"

Al smiled. Some younger siblings hated being compared to their older ones, but for him it was a compliment.

"You wanted to see me sir?"

Al had been called to Mustang's office, and he was pretty sure why.

"I have your pocket watch and your paper that says your second name. It's actually pretty ironic, take a look"

Al took the watch and placed it in his pocket as he read the paper.

_We of the Amestrian assembly dub the name "Living Soul" to Major Alphonse Matthew Elric._

Al blinked and chuckled. Ironic indeed, but it had a nice ring to it.

"As requested you'll be working under your brother, and your first assignment should start tomorrow"

Al nodded.

"You're dismissed"

Al bowed politely then left. As he did so Mustang was sure he saw something, but dismissed it as his eyes playing tricks with him.

"Is something wrong sir?" asked Riza.

"It's nothing"

_**Author's Notes**_

Man there's a llllooot of foreshadowing in this chapter. So yes Alphonse is the Living Soul alchemist (his middle name is made up), and Ed is now a colonel. What did Mustang see you ask? Weeel you'll just have to keep reading ^_^ Please review.


	4. IV Bad News

_**IV Bad News**_

April 3rd, 1918

Central, Amestris

"You wanted to see me sir?"

"Al how many times have I asked you to stop that?"

"Twenty four"

Ed looked up from his paperwork on the desk and looked up at his younger brother.

"I thought it was twenty three"

"I'm counting this one"

Ed rolled his eyes.

"Anyway I have that report on the coal mine inspection in Yous Well"

"Oh yeah? How are they doing?"

"Pretty good. They didn't recognize me, but once I told them who I was they were pretty welcoming"

Ed smiled.

"We helped them a while back, about seven years ago if I remember correctly"

Al nodded. Ed wished he could get his brother's memory back, but it was part of the equivalent exchange in getting his body back so there wasn't anything he could do.

"Oh and General Mustang says he wants to see you"

Ed groaned and stood up.

"I'll be back later then"

"You wanted to see me sir?"

He said it like Al did, but to Mustang it sounded like more like "What do you want?!"

"I've got some bad news FullMetal. The State has found evidence of your human transmutation"

Ed's eyes widened.

"**WHAT?! BUT HOW?!"**

"I don't know. I thought I should worn you now so you and Al can get out while you can"

Ed nodded.

"Thanks, we'll leave tonight"

Ed turned to leave, but Mustang stopped him.

"FullMetal"

"What?"

"How did you get Al's body back?"

Ed sighed. He wasn't sure why he wanted to know _now_, but he told him anyway.

"The Homunculus named Envy killed me, so Al used the Stone to pull my soul back and give me back my limbs, but sacrificed himself doing so. So I opened the gate, re-sacrificed my limbs, and ended up in Germany on the other side"

"But he lost his memories of the four years you spent together as well"

"Yeah...What is this about anyway?"

Mustang sighed. He knew Ed wouldn't like it, but he had to tell him.

"Al's not really your brother"

_**Author's Notes**_

**DUN DUN !!!!!!!!!!!**

**MWAWAHAHA! **Yeah I know I'm evil :D Once again at least three more reviews until I update, but it'll be the next/last three chapters at once.


	5. V Homunculi

_**V Homunculi**_

Ed's eyes widened.

"**WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN HE'S NOT MY BROTHER?! OF COURSE HE IS!"**

Mustang sighed again. He had a feeling that Ed would react like this.

"Let me rephrase that: Al is as much as your brother as 'Juliet Douglas' was your mother"

Ed froze. He knew what he meant.

"I saw the mark of the orobouros on the back of his neck" said Mustang.

"But he can use alchemy! He ages!"

"So could Wrath and Pride"

Ed didn't want to believe it.

"No. **No NO NO! IT'S NOT TRUE! IT CAN'T BE TRUE!"**

But it all added up. Why Al was missing his memory, why he could transfer his soul, but he didn't want to believe it was true.

Al was trembling. He was just going to give Mustang some paperwork that Ed had finished, but before he knocked he heard Ed shout.

"**WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN HE'S NOT MY BROTHER?! OF COURSE HE IS!"**

At that he froze. He stood there motionless outside the office and heard every word they said. Then he ran. He ran outside the building, down the street as people stared, and into their temporary apartment. Once he was inside he shut and locked the door and went into the bathroom. He lifted up his pony tail and stood in front of the mirror at a certain angle so he could see the back of his neck. There was a mark, a dark purple one of a serpent devouring it's own tail representing eternity.

"No. **No NO NO!"**

He punched the mirror in frustration making it shatter into pieces. Then he began to cry from all the pain, both physical _and_ emotional. He held his bleeding hand softly, but then red energy flared around the wound and it regenerated. His eyes widened. It really was true. He was a homunculus, a monster. He checked his right shoulder and sure enough there was a scar right where Ed had gotten bitten by a fox all those years ago: He had his brothers limbs.

How could he not have noticed? Did anybody else notice? He knew Ed didn't, but Mustang did. What about Izumi? Or Wrath and Winry, did they notice? It didn't matter much, he just wanted to know if anyone noticed or not and why they didn't tell him. He was a monster that was why, and he knew what he needed to do.

Ed slowly walked back to the apartment. How could this have happened? This wasn't the way he wanted to get his little brother's body back, he was supposed to be human! How was he going to explain this to him? What about Winry? They had to leave town and hide, they might even end up having to leave the country. He sighed as he unlocked the door of the apartment and walked inside.. God, or Gate, or whatever it was must really hate him.

"Al? You home?"

No answer. He walked towards the room but stopped when he walked past the bathroom. The door was open so he could see that the mirror above the sink was shattered and some dried blood was on the floor.

_What happened here? _He thought.

"Al?"

Still no answer. He searched the apartment, but he was no where to be found. Then he found a note on the kitchen table. As he picked it up and read it his eyes widened.

_Oh no._

_Dear brother,_

_I heard everything that you and General Mustang were talking about. I don't blame you for anything, but I think it would be best if we went separate ways. Please don't come looking for me._

_-Alphonse_

Ed quickly put on his coat and was about to go out the door when the phone rang. He hesitated, but answered it.

"Hello?"

"It's been a while pipsqueak"

Ed gasped and his eyes widened. He knew that voice, but he thought he was dead.

"Envy"

"Listen carefully shrimp. I've got your precious little brother at the abandoned factory down the street, come alone"

Then he hung up leaving Ed to hear the dial tone.

_**Author's Notes**_

**HA! **Bet you didn't see all that coming! (Please don't kill me, and this will all be explained in the sequel) Looks like Al's in trouble too, ED TO THE RESCUE!, hopefully. Anyway if you'll excuse me I must go hide from AnimeCookie93 *Runs*. Criticism accepted, but no flames.


	6. VI The Sins Are No More

_**VI The Sins Are No More**_

Al walked down the street with his suitcase in his hand. Leaving Ed was a good decision, but now he didn't know where he would go. He sighed and looked up at the sky. The sun had set, so it was getting pretty dark out. Seeing this he kept on walking, and picked up his pace as he did so.

He walked past a dark alley. He hated dark alleys; he always had a fear of really dark places. As a kid he always thought a monster could jump out and attack him, and after his body was pulled in the gate on that night they attempted the forbidden his fear got worse. He thought he saw a dark figure move so he froze, but then he saw it was just a stray cat.

"Meow"

He sighed from relief.

"You scared me there little guy"

He reached down to pet him, but it hissed and backed away. Al frowned and lowered his head. Even cute little innocent little kitties knew he was a monster. Then he was grabbed from behind. He dropped his suit case and tried to scream out, but his mouth was covered. He struggled to get free, but it was no use.

"Stubborn little brat!"

He was hit on the back of his head pretty hard, and moments later everything was blurry, then black. When he came to he found out that he was tied to a chair in what looked like an abandoned factory. Then he heard a voice:

"Listen carefully shrimp. I have your brother at the abandoned factory down the street, come alone"

Then he heard a phone being slammed down and the person came into view. He had a hard time deciding if it was a he or a she, but he decided it was a guy…wearing a purple miniskirt and had long dark green hair.

"Well well, looks like the brat's awake"

"Who are you? What do you want with me?"

"So you really did lose part of your memory"

Then he saw the ouroboros on his left thigh.

"Envy. You're Envy aren't you? Wrath told me about you"

"Oh he did, did he?"

"But what are you gonna do with me?"

"Oh I'll tell you what I'm gonna do: I'm gonna kill you nice and slow so that by the time your brother gets here he won't be able to do a thing besides watching you bleed to death, and then right before you die I'm gonna kill him"

His eyes widened with fear as Envy raised a sharp knife. Then he plunged it into his shoulder and Al cried out in pain. He seemed to enjoy it because he dragged the knife down slowly making the wound bigger. Blood began to splatter on the floor as Al lowered his head and closed his eyes wishing this was all some sort of nightmare. He felt tears coming on because of the pain, but then suddenly all of it was gone. He looked and saw that the wound had completely regenerated.

"Well this changes things"

Envy dropped the bloody knife and pulled out some red stones out of his pocket.

"Want some?"

Wrath had told him about those as well. He said they were incomplete Philosopher Stones made out of human lives.

"**NO!"**

Al closed his eyes again and looked away, but part of him felt drawn to the stones, and the voice in his head was begging him to take them.

"Leave him alone Envy, it's me you want"

Al gasped and opened his eyes.

"Brother!"

Ed was standing there with his automail blade already out and a look on his face that said he was ready to kill. Envy smiled evilly and popped the stones in his mouth. Then he charged at Ed. Al didn't want to watch the fight that was going on, so he focused on the ropes that held him to the chair. They were tricky. Envy had tied each of his hands separately so he couldn't use alchemy, and there were ropes around his waist as well. After a few minutes of struggling he got one hand free so he could untie the rest.

Ed concentrated only on Envy. He knew how strong he was, plus he just had some stones. Fortunately he knew if he managed to escape the gate then most of the stones inside him would have been used up, so he would be easier to kill. The battle continued for a few minutes both of them using short distance. They were both fast so it was hard for them to land a hit on each other, but Ed eventually was able to stab his blade right through his chest.

Al was almost free when he saw that Ed was finally able to land a good hit on Envy. Ed pulled out the blade quickly, but then stabbed him again before he could start regenerating.

"Damn you…" Envy muttered.

Apparently this used up the last of his stones because when Ed pulled out the blade again he began denigrating.

"That was for dad you bastard"

He watched as Envy completely denigrated until there was nothing more than a pile of dust. He had done it, he had finished off the last of the seven sins, they were gone for good.

Al had gotten free right as Envy had died for good. He dropped the ropes and rubbed his wrists as he stood up. It was just him and Ed now, and he still had his automail blade out. Al looked up and stared at his golden eyes for a moment. They said he was sorry, and he knew what he was going to do. His older brother was going to kill him because he was a monster that didn't deserve to live.

_**Author's Notes**_

For the record, the cat was hissing at Envy, not Al. One chapter left, and it's pretty short. Like I said there is/will be a sequel, and I'm already working on it.


	7. VII Brother

_**VII Brother**_

Al watched as his brother slowly walked towards him. Neither one of them said anything, but Al noticed that he never put his automail blade away. As he got closer Al closed his eyes and waited. He heard a loud clap ring out, but nothing else ever happened. Then he felt Ed pull him into a tight hug and he opened his eyes in shock. Was he crying?"

"I'm sorry"

He was practically sobbing.

"Brother?"

"I only wanted to get your body back; I never wanted any of this to happen"

Al blinked. He didn't know what to say.

"I promised you I would get your body back, well now I'm making another promise: I promise I'll find a way to make you human again, _without_ a Philosophers Stone"

Now they were both crying.

"Oh brother"

Why did he have to care about him so much? Why did he always have to say he was sorry?

"We're gonna have to leave town for a while since the military's gonna be after us soon"

Al frowned. He still wasn't sure if he should stay with his big brother.

"Can you handle that?" Ed finished.

Al nodded. They would get by somehow, they always did.

_To Be Continued… _

_**Author's Notes**_

I know, I know, it's short, but the Sequel (On The Run) will be longer I promise. Like I said I'm already working on it, but I have a HUGE art project due in two weeks that I still haven't gotten around to yet so it may take me a bit to finish it and get it up here. Fortunately I still have study hall, and we're not doing much in choir either so I should have it done in a week or two. Please review, and don't hate me for making Al a homunculus, but do you really think I would let him stay that way? No.


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